What Has Happened to the West Ham Board?

What has happened to the West Ham Board? Published 12/07/18 on Irons United

By Alf Gasparro

There is no denying that these are exiting times for West Ham fans and considering the last two seasons of woe, deceit and underachieving…it’s the least we can expect. However, did anyone really ever expect to see our club signing the players that we have and being tangibly linked to some great players? I certainly didn’t!

Has this sudden U Turn by the board, to try to deliver the right kind of tools to make us a force to be reckoned with, been spurred on by the criticism from the fanbase over the last few years…or more perhaps that the media finally began to acknowledge the fan’s protestations and realised that we had a point?

Was this the plan all along? Have the board been holding out on us for two seasons? Have they been working tirelessly in the background, laying down the foundations to employ a top class manager and back room staff, director of football who would attract these great players?

Is it the fact that the board have been ashamed of themselves and the team’s performances over the last two seasons and have decided that enough really was enough…and they had to act before the skies parted and the heavens fell?

Whatever the reason for this 180 degree change in direction, the fans are finally being treated to lots of positive news. Pellegrini has come into the office and has laid down his marker. He knows what he wants and he knows how to achieve it. He only needed to make the board look into the mirror and ask them the simple question, “What would you do to achieve great things?”

I said at the end of the last season, as tempers began to fray and fans were becoming more and more disillusioned with the club and with each other too, that something has to change and the final indictment on this board will be if they fail to invest properly in the squad for next season.

They needed to completely change the system behind the scenes, change the manager, refresh the squad and ultimately change the manner in which West Ham United addressed the business of football…both on and off the pitch. Of course there are huge problems to overcome still and the issues with the stadium will linger on infinitum until the stars align and the club are allowed to do what they want with it.

There is no room in my heart anymore to forgive the board for their transgressions over the last two seasons. The things they have said, the lies they have told and the promises they have failed to deliver…however, I cannot keep looking solely into the past. I must look to the future and hope for better times. With this in mind, I take great glee in the positivity that is surrounding the club at the moment and the buzz that weaves its way through the fanbase.

We have loyally stood side by side…it’s what we do. Our patience was tested to the limit and for some, justifiably so, said enough was enough. However whilst there are no expectations on my part for the team to over perform in the coming seasons or possibly even bring home some silverware…there is a realistic optimism that decent and entertaining football might be on its way back…finally! If we get our fair share of results along the way too…then that will be the proverbial cherry on the cake.

Can Pellegrini achieve with this new squad of players he is amassing? Yes, of course he can…anything is possible. However, fundamentally this is an opportunity to wipe the slate clean in footballing terms and be hopeful for a promising and successful season to come. Does this mean that we as fans should instantly develop amnesia and forget all the ills of the last few years or the malaise caused by the move to the London Stadium? Absolutely not. There should be no relenting on applying pressure to the board to improve the match day experience of the fans, the way we are treated by the club and how they should communicate professionally and cease with their social media outbursts.

However, wouldn’t it be a great day when, even for a brief moment, our dubious minds are distracted and our hateful eyes are diverted away from the problems behind the scenes, but instead look upon glorious turf and be entertain by men of iron dressed in claret and blue…and if that brings a smile to our faces and cheers from our voices…then surely it will begin, in part, the healing we all richly deserve.